Slide fastener jewelry

ABSTRACT

JEWELRY ARTICLES INCLUDING A PIN OR STUD INSERTABLE THROUGH AN OPENING IN A SLIDER PULL TAB FOR A SLIDE FASTENER.

R. B. HOWELL SLIDE FASTENER JEWELRY June 8, 1971 Filed July 3, 1968 FIG?) I N VENTOR.

FIG.4

ROBERT B. HOWELL United States Patent 3,583,044 SLIDE FASTENER JEWELRY Robert B. Howell, 2115 Madrona Point Drive, Bremerton, Wash. 98310 Filed July 3, 1968, Ser. No. 742,376 Int. Cl. A44b 19/26' U.S. Cl. 24205.15 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Jewelry articles including a pin or stud insertable through an opening in, a slider pull tab for a slide fastener.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to jewelry articles for attachment to the pull tab portions of slide fasteners, such jewelry articles serving as both a highly ornamental cover for the slider assembly, and as an easily graspable handle usable in lieu of the pull tab for moving the slider.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A slide fastener or zipper includes a movable operator or slider which is moved by hand and when so moved serves to couple or decouple the many lock elements or teeth which make up the fastener. The handle of the slider is termed a pull tab and is usually situated forwardly of the slider, in easy reach of the user, and is made large enough to be easily grasped by the user. This means that the pull tab is usually the most conspicuous portion of the slide fastener. Most pull tabs now in use are compromises between a pleasing design and a design that is easy to manufacture. However, even the more ornamental designs of pull tabs (e.g. tear drop shaped pull tabs) have become sufficiently commonplace or standard that they have lost their ornamental appeal.

Other persons have proposed attaching items of jewelry to the slider to either replace or conceal the pull tab (and in most cases the entire slider). However, for some reason slide fastener jewelry is not presently readily available in the market place, possibly because such known forms are relatively expensive to make.

PRIOR ART Knoess 2,185,853; Erard 2,221,759; Marcus 2,232,756; Schwartz 2,292,484 and Rinehart 2,570,378 are examples of prior U.S. patents relating to some sort of jewelry attachable to the slider or pull tab portions of a slide fastener.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal purpose of the present invention is to provide new forms of slide fastener jewelry which include relatively inexpensive to manufacture and simple to opcrate connector assemblies for securing them to pull tabs.

The jewelry articles of the present invention comprise a pin or stud type fastener that is insertable through an opening in the pull tab, and is accompanied by lock means for blocking its unintentional or inadvertent removal from the opening.

The jewelry articles of the present invention differs structurally from, and in most incidences are of a simpler and less expensive construction than, the jewelry articles disclosed by the several aforementioned patents.

These and other inherent objects, features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of typical and therefore non-limitive embodiments of the invention, as described below in conjunction with the accompanying illustration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing like element designations refer to like parts, and:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary isometric view of a garment in the region of the upper portion of a slide fastener, showing a jewelry article secured to the pull tab of the slider which couples and decouples the many fastener elements or teeth of the slide fastener;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a pull tab which has been specially adapted to receive either a horizontal or a vertical securement pin of a brooch type piece of jewelry, with fragmented portions of pins being spaced from and colinearly related to such openings;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of a brooch type article of jewelry secured to the pull tab of FIG. 2, by means of a vertically oriented securement pin on the brooch extending through the elongated vertical opening in the pull tab, and locked in a closed position by a latch assembly at the lower end of the article jewelry, such view showing the pull tab partially in longitudinal section, for clarity of illustration of the pin receiving openings therein; and

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a modified form of pull tab which also includes horizontal and vertical oriented openings for receiving the securement pin of a brooch type article of jewelry.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more specifically to FIG. 1, a slide fastener 10 is shown in a closed position, securing together two parts 12, 14 of a garment, or the like. By way of typical and therefore nonlimitive example, the slide fastener 10 may be of the type shown generally by applicants U.S. Pat. No. 3,324,522, issued June 13,1967. Such slide fastener comprises two rows or chains of fastener elements or teeth which are coupled together by movement of a slider in one direction, an uncoupled by movement of such slider in the opposite direction. The handle portion of the slider is termed a pull tab and in FIG. 1 an article of jewelry J is shown secured to the pull tab.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, these figures show a pull tab which is especially constructed to receive and mount a jewelry article J1 of the brooch type. Such article J1 comprises a front directed jewelry element 16, shown in the form of a disc for simplicity of illustration, and a securement pin assembly attached to the back side of the element 16. This type of assembly is generally standard amongst brooch type items of jewelry presently on the market, and is of the type shown in some detail by U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,565, issued Dec. 28, 1965 (see FIG. 6 of such patent in particular). It comprises a mounting bar 18 which is cemented or otherwise secured to the back side of the jewelry element 16. A pair of hinge ears 20 are formed at one end of the bar 18, receiving between them an eye formed at one end of a securement pin 22. A hinge pin 24 extends between the ears 20 and through the eye of the securement pin 22, to complete the hinge. A latch 26 as provided at the opposite end of the mounting bar 18, and may be of the construction more fully illustrated and described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,565.

The pull tab 28 shown by FIGS. 2 and 3 has an eye 30 formed at its upper end by which it is hingedly connected to the slider (not shown) by means of a mounting ring 32. The body of the pull tab 28, i.e. that portion thereof below the eye 30, may be of a tear drop shape, widening from a relatively narrow neck portion to a substantially wider midportion, and then narrowing again to a rounded lower end. According to the invention the pull tab body is formed to include either one or both of a longitudinal opening or passageway 34 and a transverse opening or passageway 36, each sized to receive the securement pin 22 of a conventional item of brooch type jewelry. As best shown by FIG. 3, the longitudinal opening 34 extends generally diagonally through the body from an upper forward entrance to a near bottom located exit. Owing to the elongated nature of the opening 34, and to the fact that the center of gravity of the jewelry element 16 is located below where eye 30 is engaged by ring 32, the article of jewelry generally maintains its original attitude by its own weight. This is also true when the brooch is of a type having'a horizontal pin 22, inserted through the transverse opening 36.

The pull tab 38 shown by FIG. 4 may be a part of a slide fastener of the general type shown by the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,292,484. It is fashioned from flat stock and includes an opening 40 near its upper end by which it is secured to a mount 42. According to the present invention a narrow band-like central portion 44 of the pull tab 38 is expanded forwardly a suflicient amount to define a transverse tunnel opening or passageway 46 between its rear surface and the front surfaces of the two bands of material bordering the band 44, which tunnel opening is of a size to accommodate the securement pin 22 of a brooch. Upper and lower openings 48, 50, are drilled or otherwise formed in the expanded portion 44 to lie on a common line that is situated forwardly of, and is generally parallel to, the general plane of the pull tab 38. These openings 48, 50 are provided to receive the securement pin of a brooch of a type shown by FIG. 3, i.e. in which the securement pin 22 is vertically oriented.

Having thus described the invention, it is clear that the objects as stated above have been obtained in a simple and practical manner. While a practical embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is'to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the various parts without departing from the sphere and scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a slider for a slide fastener, and

a pull tab hingedly connected to said slider, said pull tab having an elongated body and an opening therein extends generally longitudinally of the body, said opening being spaced from the hinge connection; and a brooch type jewelry article comprising an ornamental element and a connector in the form of a securement pin on said brooch which is projectable completely through the opening in said pull tab and beyond, and lock means for preventing unintentional removal of said member from said opening, and serving to retain the jewelry article on the pull tab, said lock means being a means on said brooch for engaging and holding the free end of said securement pm.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said opening extends diagonally through the pull tab from a front port relatively adjacent the hinge connection to an exit port substantially at the bottom of the pull tab.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein said pull tab is formed of flat material and includes an expanded central portion having aligned openings therein colinearly related on a line that is generally parallel to the longitudinal extent of the pull tab, with the securement pin being insertable through both of said openings.

4. The combination of claim 1, further including a transverse passageway extending through the pull tab, for selectively receiving the securement pin on said brooch.

5. The combination of claim 4, wherein said pull tab is formed of a flat material and includes an expanded intermediate band portion defining a transverse aperture for the pin means between the rear boundary of the expanded band and the front boundaries of the material on opposite sides of the expanded band.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,221,759 11/1940 Erard 24205.155UX 2,232,756 2/1941 Marcus 24-205.15-5UX 2,516,241 7/1950 Mulheran 24205.155UX 2,570,378 10/1951 Rinehart 24-205.155UX BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Examiner 

